The Imirt Irish Game Awards are taking place on April 11th at the Fís Games Summit and we cannot wait to honour the best games coming out of Ireland. Each category is being judged by a specialised panel of experts, and that includes the three awards that voting is opening for today. Voting is now open for three categories that we felt had to be voted on by the community.
Below you’ll see the nominees for three awards; Best Upcoming Game, Rising Star and Community Hero. It’s important to recognise the people that make the Irish games community such a warm and welcoming place, and that are succeeding against all odds to make their mark on the industry.
Voting is now open to Imirt members, with members having received voting cards in their email. We encourage you all to get out and vote. It’s a short voting window, with voting ending at 23:59pm on Tuesday the 25th of March.
It should be noted that Imirt had no part in deciding the nominees for these categories. Nominated in both Rising Star and Community Hero, Robert Emerson is an Imirt Board Member, but was nominated by members of the community.
Best Upcoming Game
The Best Upcoming Game award is designed to recognise the amazing games currently in development from developers in the Irish Games Industry.
Axyz - Space lion studios
Axyz is a retro gravity switching puzzle game that asks the player to use their environmental and spatial awareness to beat each level within the time limit. Soak in the vaporwave, switch gravity, collect tapes, and more in this tribute to 90s puzzle games.
Crystal Edge : Retribution - Broken Brains
Crystal Edge: Retribution is an exciting Hack'n'Slash that follows the story of Alex, who turns an oppressive & classist government on its head while showing off her ingenuity in this Victorian/Steampunk setting.
Mars Attracts - Outlier
Mars Attracts is a park management sim set in the iconic universe of Mars Attacks™. Build rides, hire staff, manage guest needs, and abduct humans to serve as the star attractions. You'll face demanding visitors, environmental hazards, and the ever looming threat of human escapes!
The Necromancer's Tale - psychic software
A story-rich gothic CRPG. Master the rituals of an ancient spellbook. Raise an undead army to march against your enemies. Commune with the realm of the dead & struggle with your descent into madness. Progress through secrecy, diplomacy, blackmail, coercion & seduction until ready to reveal yourself.
Ventilate - InkFox Studios
A bullet hell top-down/isometric steampunk game where you must fight rogue constructs to get home and flee the city.
Rising Star
The Rising Star award recognises an individual who is an emerging talent in the Irish games industry, in any development discipline. The nominees in this category were submitted for the award because of the incredible things they have achieved, and the potential they have to rise in the future.
Catherine Koshkina
My path into games started trivially- with loving them. Playing games and discussing them with my older brother and my friends was always my favourite.
In college, I studied Linguistics as my Undergraduate as that was something I was always good at. Moved to Dublin to do my Masters in Interactive Digital Media at TCD. It was during that year when I realised that a career in games is something feasible and something I want to pursue.
I was torn between 3D art and Game Design at first, but after doing a short online course on Game Design, I realised that it is a love match. I knew I had to become a designer. The range of opportunities fascinated me, it also really seemed to suit the way my mind functions.
Having started in the games industry as LQA with Activision, I have then moved on to become a game designer with the Black Shamrock team. In these 3 years I have worked on six different project that has allowed me to grow and learn from my incredible seniors. Now I hope to help aspiring designers and people who are undecided what to pursue in the industry to find their focus and join the new generation of industry specialists.
It has been an amazing journey for me so far and sometimes I still can't believe that I get to work at the precious heart of such incredible games that we as a studio are involved in.
Jamie Gavin
A one-man game development studio based out of Galway City, Ireland, ENIGMA | STUDIO is the brainchild of Jamie Gavin, an artist from county Mayo and Lifetime Achievement award nominee at the 2024 Horror Game Awards. Since 2018, Jamie has been crafting a psychedelic trilogy of enigmatic horror games with a single interconnected meta-narrative that have garnered a devoted following of players.
Starting with THE ENIGMA MACHINE in 2018 followed by MOTHERED - ROLE-PLAYING HORROR GAME in 2021, ENIGMA | STUDIO completed this trilogy with the long-awaited release of [ECHOSTASIS] in 2024, winning the Long Feature award at A MAZE Berlin 2024.
Robert Emerson
Rob's career in games began as early as when he stole his brother's copy of Pokémon Yellow when he was 3 years old. He deleted his brother's save file while he was at school and for some reason his parents took his side in that argument. He still doesn't understand why.
Many of you will know Rob for his role as a Recruiter, where you can find him in calls after-hours with students and people struggling to find their place in the industry, offering as much advice as he can for how to turn their skills into a job. Rob has been happy to represent the industry on both a domestic and international level in this regard, fostering closer relationships with people, studios and universities across Europe.
Rob was lucky to join Black Shamrock as a HR Intern 3 years ago. He was very lucky to be surrounded by a world-class HR and Recruitment team where he quickly learned the ropes and was encouraged to take on something he was passionate about, being the people that make this industry what it is. Rob is a huge believer that support roles like HR and Recruitment should act as multipliers for the rest of the industry, adding value and not taking it away.
3 months into his internship Rob took over managing Corporate Social Responsibility for Black Shamrock. With the support of his studio and the amazing people that work there he has tirelessly advocated for the industry and the people working in it.
The team at Black Shamrock have now completed over 50 educational outreach events over the course of the last 3 years, ranging from speaking to autistic units in secondary schools, all the way up to the largest annual student-focused educational event in games in the country, Crack the Code. They've long given up tracking how many people they've spoken to!
Rob is a firm believer that the industry can't just sit there dictating terms to educational institutions. The burden of any change (and change is hard) needs to be shared between industry and colleges/universities. Rob's advocacy in this regard has allowed colleges and universities to change their courses to be more closely aligned with the needs of the industry, massively increasing student employability.
In a similar vein, Rob also lectures students at Pulse College in portfolio-related subjects, offering practical advice on how to turn what students are learning into a job. He's a firm believer that while we're all passionate about the industry, it shouldn't be forgotten that people need to put food on the table.
Rob leads the charge in the industry on diversity as well. He understands far too well what it is to be marginalised and fights tirelessly against this within the industry through practical volunteering with the likes of ASIAM, BelongTo and the Irish Network Against Racism. Rob is never alone at these events, always flanked by others in the industry who feel similarly. He is very thankful to have led Black Shamrock to be the first games studio in Ireland to have been accredited any form of award in DE&I and will continue to work with the Irish Centre for Diversity in this regard to build bigger and stronger protections for all protected groups. During Pride you can always find Rob accosting people on the street for money for BelongTo to help protect our hard-won rights and protections and support the next generation of LGBT+ youth.
Rob was recently elected to the board of Imirt where he has wasted no time in sticking his finger into all of the pies he can find. Rob hopes over the course of his tenure to use this new position to help the industry through educational reform, greater supports availability for the industry at-large, workshops focusing on employable skills and to be a tireless voice for diversity within the industry.
Talk is cheap. Be the change you want to see in the world. Do hard things not because they are hard, but because of the people you can help.
Sofiia Pyrohova
I’m Sofiia, a mid-level Unity developer currently based in Donegal, Ireland. My journey in game development began during my university years when I created a gamified educational app as part of a student project. This sparked my interest in blending gameplay with learning to make education more engaging. By 2020, I joined my first commercial project and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Software Engineering the following year.
For over a year now, I've been working as a software developer at StoryToys, contributing to Sesame Mecha Builders and LEGO Bluey projects. I apply my knowledge in Unity and C# to create engaging interactions and dynamic gameplay. What excites me most is the opportunity to bring to life characters and environments that I grew up with, which feels incredibly rewarding. I joined Tatem Games, where I’ve been gaining experience in mobile game development. This role allowed me to refine my skills in game mechanics and work with a variety of platforms and tools.
Originally from Ukraine, I moved to Ireland almost three years ago, and I’m really excited to be a part of the growing Irish gaming community. I see huge potential here and am eager to share my experiences while continuing to learn and grow alongside the talented individuals in this industry.
Community Hero
The Community Hero award recognises an individual who has continuously given to the Irish games communnity and who has been a beacon of support for those of us who work in it. These individuals have put an exceptional amount of time and effort into helping people, going above and beyond for those who work in the Irish games community.
Darren Kearney
For over ten years, Darren has served the game development community of Galway and Ireland as a volunteer, event organiser and more, with a characteristic enthusiasm, positive attitude and drive. Darren has operated under the guiding principle that everyone interested in making games can and should feel welcome, accepted and supported, both in their community and in the ever changing industry. He has dedicated himself to making this a reality on a local level and the impact is clear - just talk to an indie dev and see for yourself!
Darren has served as an Imirt CLG Board Member, Galway Game Jam organiser and volunteer, Global GameCraft CLG board member, and Global Game Jam Site Organiser, often in roles to advocate and support the needs of indie developers, and connecting Ireland's community to the global game making community.
Leela Collins
Leela Collins is the founder of Irish indie publisher Banshee Games and has previously worked as a Producer and as Skills Coordinator for Northern Ireland Screen and Screen Ireland. They have supported studios, advocated for the Irish games industry, and represented it at global events.
As a Skills Coordinator, Leela has supported and developed programs for game devs, connected studios with funding and training, and worked to strengthen industry recognition at home and abroad. Their efforts have helped shape national support for Irish game development.
Leela has organised 150+ community events, working with NIGD, Imirt, the Game Workers Union, and Limit Break Mentorship. They have supported 20+ Irish studios, run portfolio reviews, game jam sites, and mentorship programs, and taught on multiple Higher Education games courses.
They founded Game Changers Belfast, an unconference for underrepresented voices, was recognised by The Game Awards Future Class 2022, and served on the Limit Break events committee for three years, promoting diversity and inclusion. Leela believes that "rising tides raise all boats" and continues to push for community growth, knowledge-sharing, and industry support.
Len Cunningham
Len Cunningham is a game designer, narrative designer and writer with over 8 years of professional games industry experience.
They are passionate about involvement in supporting and growing the local game development community. They have lectured in narrative design and writing for games at Trinity College Dublin, were a board member of Imirt for 2 years and are an active committee member of Game Workers Unite Ireland.
Robert Emerson
(See Above)
Tara Burke
Tara Jaye Burke is a Galway-based creative who is immersed in the local and national game development community through hobbyist, educational, and professional pursuits.
With 7 years of experience as a 3D Artist and Game Designer, Tara currently works as a 3D Generalist Artist for StoryToys and an Assistant Lecturer in Game Design for ATU.
Tara has worked on games for brands like LEGO, Marvel, Hasbro, and Disney. She has facilitated workshops, given talks, and served as an administrator for industry support through collaborations with organizations such as Imirt, Eirmersive, Ardán and Wexford County Council.
In addition to her professional work, she actively volunteers with Galway Game Jam to promote community and creativity within the Galway game development scene.
